We are now in the period on the Hebrew calendar in which the Jewish people mark the ‘counting of the omer.’ This refers to the 50 days between the spring holidays of Passover and Pentecost when an omer of grain was offered each day in ancient times as a special sacrifice in the Temple. This was meant to show us just how closely these two spring feasts were linked in Old Testament times. Now Passover and Pentecost were not only bound to one another in the Law of Moses, but they are inseparably linked as well in the New Testament. In the Gospels, we read that Jesus died just before the Passover began, rose from the dead on the first day of the counting of the omer, and then ascended to heaven so the Holy Spirit could fall on the Day of Pentecost – exactly 50 days after he arose from the grave! So just how closely linked are these special spring festivals in the Hebrew Bible and in Jewish tradition? Why are they so connected in the life of Jesus in the New Testament? And what lessons can we as Christians learn about Pentecost and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit even from the Old Testament passages about this great festival? Between Passover and Pentecost! That’s our focus next week here on Front Page Jerusalem. We’ll have a Bible teaching on the deep spiritual connection between these spring feasts and the lessons they contain for the Church today. Our featured teaching will be delivered by Dr. Jürgen Bühler, the Executive Director of the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem.
